A court in Moscow has announced in absentia verdicts against the chief prosecutor and eight judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) following their indictment of Russian President Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, officials reported on Friday.

The ICC, based in The Hague, issued an arrest warrant for Putin and his children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, in March 2023, accusing them of the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children. Moscow dismissed the warrant as invalid and initiated a criminal investigation against ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan and the judges involved.

According to the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, the Moscow City Court found the nine ICC officials guilty of prosecuting innocent individuals, unlawful detention, and attempts to commit violence against persons under international protection.

The prosecutor’s office stated, “The court determined that ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan wrongfully initiated criminal proceedings against Russian citizens between February and March 2022 in The Hague.”

It continued, “The ICC Presidency, lacking any legal basis, directed the judges to issue arrest warrants that were knowingly unlawful for these individuals,” without naming Putin or Lvova-Belova specifically.

Khan has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, contingent upon his extradition to Russia.

The eight judges received prison terms ranging from three and a half years to 15 years.

The Investigative Committee of Russia, which initiated the case, identified the judges as former ICC President Petr Józef Hofmański, his successor Tomoko Akane, and First Vice-President Rosario Salvatore Aitala, Second Vice-President Reine Alapini-Gansou, along with judges Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godínez, Haikel Ben Mahfoud, Carranza Luz del Carmen Ibáñez, and Bertram Schmitt.

All nine individuals have been placed on an international wanted list.